13064 eup Milwright:layout 9/2/09 12:33 Page 1 AN INTRODUCTION AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY TO ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY In the beginning was the Qur’an,- the first book of Islam and also the first book of Arabic literature. Occasioned by the need to understand and interpret the word of God, and the teachings of the Prophet Muh. ammad, Muslims made an inventory and study of their tradition. This involved the collection, transmission and instruction of the sacred text, of the words and deeds of Muh. ammad, and also of poetry, from both before and after the rise of Islam – indeed of all matters regarded as pertinent to the proper and scholarly study of the tradition. This activity, which began in the last third of the seventh century, relied predominantly on aural study with a master, that is, on oral communication between teacher and student, although writing was already an integral part of this process. In the present work Gregor Schoeler explains how Muslim scholarship evolved from aural to read. The result was the genesis of one of the richest literatures of late antiquity and the early middle ages, as is clear from the widespread dissemination of scholarship through writing and the attendant proliferation of books. Gregor Schoeler is Professor and Chair of Islamic Studies in the Orientalisches Seminar at the University of Basel. His many publications include The Oral and the Written in Early Islam (2006). Shawkat M. Toorawa is Associate Professor of Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies at Cornell University. He is the author of Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur and Arabic Writerly Culture (2005). MARCUS MILWRIGHT Series cover design concept: River Design, Edinburgh Cover illustration: Les séances. Al-Maqamat, Arabe 5847, Folio 152. Supplied by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Edinburgh University Press 22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF MARCUS MILWRIGHT www.euppublishing.com ISBN 978 0 7486 2468 3 Edinburgh THE NEW EDINBURGH ISLAMIC SURVEYS THE NEW EDINBURGH ISLAMIC SURVEYS SERIES EDITOR: CAROLE HILLENBRAND SERIES EDITOR: CAROLE HILLENBRAND An introduction to Islamic archaeology The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys Series Editor: Carole Hillenbrand titles available or forthcoming Contemporary Issues in Islam Asma Asfaruddin The New Islamic Dynasties Clifford Edmund Bosworth Media Arabic (2nd Edition) Julia Ashtiany Bray An Introduction to the Hadith John Burton A History of Islamic Law Noel Coulson Medieval Islamic Political Thought Patricia Crone A Short History of the Ismailis Farhad Daftary Islam: An Historical Introduction (2nd Edition) Gerhard Endress A History of Christian–Muslim Relations Hugh Goddard Medieval Islamic Science Robert Hall ShiÆism (2nd Edition) Heinz Halm Islamic Science and Engineering Donald Hill Muslim Spain Reconsidered Richard Hitchcock Islamic Law: From Historical Foundations to Contemporary Practice Mawil Izzi Dien Sufism: The Formative Period Ahmet T. Karamustafa Islamic Aesthetics Oliver Leaman Persian Historiography Julie Scott Meisami Pilgrims and Pilgrimage Josef Meri The Muslims of Medieval Italy Alex Metcalfe An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology Marcus Milwright Twelver ShiÆism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam Andrew Newman Muslims in Western Europe (3rd Edition) Jørgen Nielsen Medieval Islamic Medicine Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith Islamic Names Annemarie Schimmel The Genesis of Literature in Islam Gregor Schoeler Modern Arabic Literature Paul Starkey Islamic Medicine Manfred Ullman Islam and Economics Ibrahim Warde A History of Islamic Spain W. Montgomery Watt and Pierre Cachia Introduction to the Qur’an W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Creeds W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Philosophy and Theology W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Political Thought W. Montgomery Watt The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe W. Montgomery Watt An introduction to Islamic archaeology MARCUS MILWRIGHT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS © Marcus Milwright, 2010 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh www.euppublishing.com Typeset in Goudy by Koinonia, Manchester, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourney Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts A CIP Record for this book is available from the British Library isbn 978 0 7486 2310 5 (hardback) isbn 978 0 7486 2311 2 (paperback) The right of Marcus Milwright to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published with the support of the Edinburgh University Scholarly Publishing Initiatives Fund. Contents List of figures vi Acknowledgements ix Notes on transliteration and dating xi List of abbreviations xii 1 Introduction 1 2 Early Islam and late antiquity 24 3 New directions in the early Islamic period 44 4 The countryside 59 5 Towns, cities and palaces 75 6 Religious practice in the Islamic world 124 7 Crafts and industry 143 8 Travel and trade 159 9 The ‘post-medieval’ Islamic world 174 10 Conclusion 192 Glossary 223 Dynasties and periods 227 Bibliography 229 Index 256 Figures Note The maps have been prepared by Chris Mundigler Following chapter 5 1.1 Gilded bronze plate with enamel decoration, twelfth century 1.2 Map showing principal locations discussed in the book 2.1 a ‘Orans’ type dirham b ‘Standing caliph’ dinar c Epigraphic dinar 2.2 Bilingual (Greek and Arabic) papyrus: a Recto b Verso 2.3 Excavated plan of the Dar al-Imara at Kufa, Iraq, seventh century 2.4 a Plan of the qasr of Bakhra’, Syria b Qasr and surrounding buildings 2.5 View along the main colonnaded street towards the Temple of Bel, Palmyra 2.6 Diagram showing the encroachment of building onto a colonnaded street 2.7 Plan of the Byzantine–Umayyad town of Umm al-Jimal 2.8 Main sites of Arabia and the Persian Gulf in late antiquity 2.9 The distribution of the Umayyad qusur and related towns and cities in Greater Syria 2.10 Exterior of Qasr al-Kharana, Jordan (before 92/710) 2.11 Late Roman castrum known as Qasr al-Bashir, Jordan (293–305) 3.1 Turquoise-glazed storage jar, sixth/seventh century, Iran or Iraq 3.2 Distribution of Islamic coins in Europe 3.3 ‘Dinar’ minted by Offa, king of Mercia 3.4 a Two construction phases of the mosque at Wasit b Early eighth-century mosque excavated at the citadel of ‘Amman 3.5 Distribution of the principal congregational mosques constructed during the seventh and eighth centuries Figures vii 3.6 Computer reconstructions of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) and the Umayyad buildings to the south and west before 749: a view from the south-west b view from the north-east 4.1 Plan of the last occupation phase of Hasanlu Tepe 4.2 Principal sites of southern Jordan during the Islamic and crusader periods 4.3 Diagram of a typical qanat 4.4 Settlements and canals in the Diyala plain, Iraq, during the Islamic period 4.5 Sugar pot and molasses jars found in Karak Castle 4.6 Plan of the milling chamber excavated at Tawahin al-Sukkar 5.1 Plan of ‘Anjar, Lebanon, early eighth century 5.2 Plan of Ayla, Jordan, seventh–eleventh century 5.3 Plan of the larger compound at Qasr al-Hayr East, Syria, early eighth century 5.4 Plan of the citadel of ‘Amman, Jordan, in the early Islamic period 5.5 Plan of Raqqa-Rafiqa showing the principal historical and archaeo- logical sites 5.6 Carved stucco panel from the Abbasid period palaces of Raqqa-Rafiqa 5.7 Plan of Samarra, Iraq showing the principal monuments of the Abbasid phase 5.8 Balkuwara and surrounding cantonments, Samarra 5.9 Fatimid period house excavated at Fustat 5.10 Pottery gathered from surface collection in Barqiya 5.11 Satellite map with the distribution of Ottoman period fountains and mosques in Nafpaktos 5.12 Detail of the sanitary infrastructure on the upper terrace of Madinat al-Zahra’ Following chapter 10 6.1 a Plan of the Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem b Reconstruction of ‘Aqsa II’ c Reconstruction of ‘Aqsa I’ 6.2 The mosque of c.1000 excavated at Shanga 6.3 The congregational mosque at Siraf: a Plan of Phase I b Plan of Phase II 6.4 Modern pressed clay pilgrim tokens in the Pa Minar Mosque 6.5 Adult female burial, looking south-west 6.6 Detail of the mosaic pavement at the east end of the naos of the church of St Stephen, Umm al-Rasas viii An introduction to Islamic archaeology 6.7 Mosaic from the church of the Acropolis, Ma‘in, Jordan 7.1 Linen tabby textile with tiraz embroidered in dark blue silk 7.2 Distribution of late eighth- and early ninth-century kilns excavated by the Raqqa Ancient Industries Project at Tal Aswad, Raqqa 7.3 Pottery from Raqqa, Syria 7.4 Lustre painted and glazed ceramic jar, Egypt, eleventh century 7.5 Plan of the Abbasid period glass workshop excavated at Tal Zujaj 7.6 Sixth- or seventh-century clay oven (tabun) excavated in Mudaybi‘ 7.7 a Handmade slip-painted ceramic jar, thirteenth/fourteenth century, ‘Amman Citadel Museum b Handmade slip-painted jug, thirteenth/fourteenth century, Karak Castle Museum 8.1 View of Ribat-i Sharaf, early twelfth century 8.2 Route of Darb Zubayda from Kufa to the Hijaz 8.3 Tin-glazed bowl with cobalt decoration. Probably Basra, early ninth century 8.4 a Detail of the Bove pulpit in San Giovanni del Toro, Ravello b Detail of the north side of the church of San Piero a Grado, Pisa 8.5 Mihrab in al-Shawadhina mosque, ‘Aqr, Oman 8.6 Map of Greater Syria showing major cities, towns and castles of the crusader states 8.7 The ‘Luck of Edenhall’ 8.8 Dark and light blue dyed cotton tabby textile fragment with block- printed resist pattern, tenth century, India 8.9 Major ports around the Indian Ocean